Cannabis plant material contains a variety of potentially valuable compounds. For example tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD), cannabichromene (CBC), cannabigerol (CBG), cannabinol (CBN), and other compounds are present in varying amounts in cannabis and hemp plant material.
As defined by Congress, in order for a cannabis plant to qualify as industrial hemp, the THC content must be below 0.3% of overall mass. However, current extraction processes typically increase THC content of industrial hemp based oil to an average of 3.5% of overall mass. This product is now legally defined by Congress as “marihuana” and is no longer regulatory compliant. The most widely employed solution to this problem is the dilution of product through a myriad of unknown additives, which not only decreases the THC content, but in decrease turn all medical cannabinoids by 10 fold. Alternatively CBD isolates are a popular solution, though these concentrates inevitably render the terpenes, fatty acids, and full spectrum cannabinoid profile unusable. In another attempt to solve the problem, fractional distillation is being explored; however, distillation would be very difficult to make as a viable solution on a commercial scale, due to costs associated with industrial refineries and the similar boiling points of cannabinoids, the need to still add dilutant and the excessive product loss associated with the process.
Thus, efficient methods are desirable for processing cannabis oil to provide a clean cannabis oil comprising not more than 0.3 wt % THC compared to overall mass, while otherwise maintaining cannabinoid profile, including other cannabinoids, terpenes and fatty acids.
Raw cannabis oil containing these and other compounds may be extracted from the cannabis flower/plant using techniques such as CO2 extraction or liquid-solid solvent extraction. The concentration of compounds in the raw cannabis oil, however, is currently not well controlled. Typical control techniques include diluting the cannabis oil with a foreign substance, such as olive oil, MCT oil, and hempseed oil. This technique does not change the relative concentrations of the compounds vis-à-vis other compounds in the cannabis oil. Other techniques target the removal of specific compounds, such as THC. This, however, often results in other compounds being removed or denatured as a result. Thus, it remains desirous to identify methods to separate raw cannabis oil into one or more of its constituent compounds.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the technology is disclosed. Also, although relatively specific problems have been discussed, it should be understood that the embodiments presented should not be limited to solving the specific problems identified in the introduction.